NRC to discuss Braidwood, Byron environmental reviews

Public meetings part of license renewal process

Aug. 20, 2013

LISLE – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold public meetings today and Wednesday near the Byron and Braidwood nuclear power plants to discuss the agency’s environmental reviews of the plants’ proposed license renewal.

Meetings for the Byron Station environmental review will be held today at the Byron Forest Preserve, 7993 N. River Road, in Byron. Meetings for the Braidwood environmental review will be Wednesday at the Fossil Ridge Public Library, 386 W. Kennedy Road, Braidwood.

On each date, sessions will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m., with NRC staff explaining the review process and taking comments from the public about the scope of the reviews.

Exelon Generation Co. filed an application May 29 seeking to renew the operating licenses of the two plants for an additional 20 years.

The Braidwood Nuclear Station, located 20 miles southwest of Joliet, in Braceville, and the Byron Nuclear Station, located 17 miles southwest of Rockford, each have two pressurized-water reactors.

The current operating licenses for Braidwood expire on Oct. 17, 2026, for Unit 1 and Dec. 18, 2027, for Unit 2.

Exelon, in submitting a single application to cover both plants, cited extensive similarities in the systems, structures and components of each that are analyzed in a license renewal review.

The NRC will conduct separate environmental reviews because of differences in environmental and cultural resources surrounding the plants.

Members of the public wishing to submit comments in writing on the scope of the environmental reviews may do so at the federal government’s rulemaking website, www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID NRC-2013-0178 for Byron and Docket ID NRC-2013-0169 for Braidwood.